Flipkart Customer Got Stones Instead of Product Purchased: Facts

Story:

@Flipkart Asked for the replacement for Moto G (2nd Gen) this is what i got in return, stones in the box: Abhishek on Twitter.

Flipkart Customer Got Stones Instead of Product Purchased

Analysis:

A customer grievance posted on Twitter and shared heavily on other social networking websites as well states that when Abhishek asked the ecommerce giant Flipkart a replacement for Moto G mobile phone, he instead received stones in the box! The incident got wide attention also because Flipkart has been going through some issues lately. Let us learn the facts in detail along with the missing information.

Flipkart Customer Got Stones Instead of Product Purchased

The Case

On 8 Oct. 2014, a guy named Abhishek complained on Twitter that when he asked Flipkart for the replacement for Moto G (2nd Gen), he got stones in return. He posted pictures to prove his claim (see Images) and also reached out to news outlets on Twitter without any luck.

Flipkart’s Response

We wrote to Flipkart Support on Twitter requesting details of the incident in Abhishek’s case, but we did not get any response from them. After 10 days of Abhishek’s complaining to Flipkart, on 18 October, Flipkart Support tweeted to Abhishek that they have arranged to ship a replacement, along with apologies for the delay. In case of Chirag pawar, he tweeted that Flipkart will refund the amount he paid for Tab.

@Abhishek393 Believe, we’ve arranged to ship a replacement. Sorry for the delay though!

Similar Complaints in Past & More Issues

In past as well, there have been few such complaints about Flipkart’s service, like mentioned here and here. In early 2014, an Indian lady ordered a 24-70 mm sigma lens from Flipkart, but all she received was some magnets, stones and wires! She was asked to wait for 10 days for the standard refund process. In March 2013, another Indian lady ordered a 160GB iPod from the Flipkart site, but instead of an actual iPod in the box, she found two stones (picture below). Flipkart investigated into the case and arranged replacement.

More recently, on 06 Oct. 2014, Flipkart held a Big Billion Day sale offer online that did not go well – there were price changes, out of stock issues, cancellations and website issues. Customers were extremely angry about the sale, as a result of which, Flipkart had to publish apologies in their blog on 7 Oct.

Who’s Responsible

While the aforementioned incidents appear to be facts, it is unclear where exactly the faults occur – at the sellers, distributors, Flipkart’s management, or delivery. In such cases, it’s difficult to blame Flipkart entirely for the issue. And then there can be possibilities where some fraudulent people may actually replace the delivered products with stones or whatever and lie that they have received the same. It is unclear whether Flipkart is in a position to actually contend that they have delivered the product correctly. Moreover, Flipkart is a market place, where anybody can place a product for sale. The seller has to agree to some terms and conditions, but if he cheats on customer, it is not that Flipkart is cheating its customers directly. Having said that, Flipkart is also responsible for the mismanagement. We advise users to check the seller ratings in the site and identify trusted sellers. As for customers receiving stones instead of actual products, we hope Flipkart would make necessary changes in their business to avoid any such incidents in future.